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puppies, and—damnit. Here.” He shoved the sandwich at her, grabbed his with a paper towel and stomped out of the room. Clearly, it was a sore subject. Sula filed that away as a very useful bit of knowledge. She ate her sandwich slowly, admiring the fact that he matched the smoked turkey with the fresh spinach leaves. It was true that shifters made the best cooks. She cleaned up and went to go look for him, to make sure he was not scrounging about in their bedrooms or scratching the walls or whatever wolves did when annoyed. He was on the porch, still chewing, so she took a moment to study him. He was strong and wiry as well as handsome— she imagined him from a family of miners, maybe, or factory workers. Hard people, hard lives, and not much by way accepting homosexuality, much less shifters. Assuming that his own family were not wolves, which they probably were. He noticed she was staring and shrugged as if saying that she could look all she wanted. A knot twisted in her stomach. She did not want to like him, much less have him humping her leg. Even if they did stay, he belonged to Tony, was a part of his pack, and she had no business being interested in other's property. She had no business thinking of herself as anything but a loner, and she used Bracelet to calm her fears and needs and wants, letting the dark energy quell her mood.
    She turned to leave him, going up to her room and shutting the door firmly. By careful evasive maneuvers she managed to avoid everyone after they got back, mostly by staying in her room reading and surfing the Web. Lisbeth picked up on the message, as she and the pack started on dinner without asking Sula about it. Later, with the television blaring an old 90s action movie from the living room, Lisbeth finally knocked on her door.
    “Going to stay in here forever?”
    “Are they leaving any time soon?”
    Lisbeth came in and sat down on the edge of the bed. Sula put her book aside and folded her arms.
    “I don't think so…at least not for a while. I would like them to stay, Sula.” Lisbeth looked uncomfortable. That pleased Sula in a petty way, because she did not want this to be easy.
    “This is our house. It's one thing for them to hang around for a few days but I don't want them moving in.”
    Lisbeth nodded, disappointed but not surprised. “I thought so. Tony called McBride, up the mountain, for an out of season hunting cabin.”
    “Then why ask if they could stay?”
    “I didn't. I just said I wanted them too.”
    Sula cringed inside, knowing that she had failed some kind of test. Still, on the whole, it was better to fail Lisbeth now than later. If the pack stayed with them, there would be arguments and maybe even blood. Sula was angry that Lisbeth wanted to pretend that was not true.
    “Well you knew they couldn't. There would just be fights, and you know how that goes. I don't want to hurt them, any of them, I just don't like them. Up the mountain would be better, and McBride could use that bit of money in the meantime, what with his youngest girl sick all the time.”
    “You aren't even trying to get to know them.” Lisbeth sighed.
    “You're right about that. I don't do packs and this isn't my business. All I know is Tony is from Canada, wants a home range territory to call his own, and puppies. And that you're falling for him without much cause.”
    “I like him. I know we just met but something about him is different. You'd like him too if—”
    “Don't start. He's a wolf and he's looking for a mate, I don't fit in that picture in any way. Honestly, you would make the best mate an Alpha could want, you're a natural born leader and you're beautiful, ain't no mystery to me why he's interested. Keep in mind that he's not just fucking you, though, he's hardly hung up on you. He doesn't need you for anything but puppies. He gets all the love and sex he can handle from the others.”
    Lisbeth frowned. “Ever the cynic. You make it sound cheap.”
    “I figure with